• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.32 no.12
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• pp.1049-1054
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• 2015

Nowadays, there are many researches involving structural actuators, which have adjustable stiffness; they are also called variable stiffness actuators (VSA). The VSAs can adjust the characteristics of actuators for various functions and human-machine safety. This paper describes the design and analysis of two types of VSAs. To adjust stiffness, the actuators are controlled by a principle of lever ratio mechanism, by changing a pivot position or a spring position in the structure with springs. To make the principle workable, the designs are simplified by using a ball screw system with a motor. Each structure shows different static properties with variable rates of stiffness. We have also shown the experimental verification of the dynamic performance of the two types of VSAs. This research can be applied to various industrial fields, where humans work in conjunction with robots.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.128-134
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• 2009

This paper aims to design a variable-stiffness type economical safety joint for service robots. The safety joint was designed to have a passive shock absorbing mechanism for protecting human from a catastrophic collision under service condition of robots. A simple mechanism composed of two action disks for switching the load transfer, a spring and a screw for pre-load was proposed. In order to evaluate the performance of the safety joint a testing platform which can carry out the static and impact tests was also designed and fabricated. From the test results, the designed safety joint was proved to have a variable load-carrying capacity and about 42% impact absorption capacity with simple manipulation of the control screw.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.135-146
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• 1992

It was the purpose of this study to analyze and compare the mechanical properties of ortho dontic open coil springs. Four variable factors were presented - wire diameter (.008", .009", .010"), lumen size (.030", .032", .036"), arch wire size and shape (.016" round, $ .016^{{\prime}{\prime}}{\times}.022^{{\prime}{\prime}}$ rect.) and alloy type (HiT II, Elgiloy, Sentalloy). The total 104 specimens were divided into 13 groups, and compression test was performed on an Instron test machine. The load deflection curve of each open coil spring was obtained, from which, the load-deflection relations, stiffnesses, percent recoveries were computed statistically. The results were obtained as follows: 1. When the lumen size of the coil spring remained constant, stiffness and percent recovery increased as the wire diameter increased. 2. When the wire diameter of the coil spring remained constant, stiffness and percent recovery decreased as the lumen size increased. 3. The effect of size and shape of arch wire on the coil spring was not statistically significant. 4. In alloy types, stiffness was the greatest in HiT II (55.21), Elgiloy (42.61) and Sentalloy (7.74) in that order. Sentalloy exhibited superior percent recovery and long range of action.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.373-392
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• 2012

Tracking control of systems with variable stiffness hysteresis using a gain-scheduled (GS) controller is developed in this paper. Variable stiffness hysteretic system is represented as quasi linear parameter dependent system with known bounds on parameters. Assuming that the parameters can be measured or estimated in real-time, a GS controller that ensures the performance and the stability of the closed-loop system over the entire range of parameter variation is designed. The proposed method is implemented on a spring-mass system which consists of a semi-active independently variable stiffness (SAIVS) device that exhibits hysteresis and precisely controllable stiffness change in real-time. The SAIVS system with variable stiffness hysteresis is represented as quasi linear parameter varying (LPV) system with two parameters: linear time-varying stiffness (parameter with slow variation rate) and stiffness of the friction-hysteresis (parameter with high variation rate). The proposed LPV-GS controller can accommodate both slow and fast varying parameter, which was not possible with the controllers proposed in the prior studies. Effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by comparing the results with a fixed robust $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ controller that assumes the parameter variation as an uncertainty. Superior performance of the LPV-GS over the robust $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ controller is demonstrated for varying stiffness hysteresis of SAIVS device and for different ranges of tracking displacements. The LPV-GS controller is capable of adapting to any parameter changes whereas the $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ controller is effective only when the system parameters are in the vicinity of the nominal plant parameters for which the controller is designed. The robust $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ controller becomes unstable under large parameter variations but the LPV-GS will ensure stability and guarantee the desired closed-loop performance.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.345-359
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• 2013

For the purpose of investigating the free vibration response of the spatial curved beams, the governing equations are derived in matrix formats, considering the variable curvature and torsion. The theory includes all the effects of rotary inertia, shear and axial deformations. Frobenius' scheme and the dynamic stiffness method are then applied to solve these equations. A computer program is coded in Mathematica according to the proposed method. As a special case, the dynamic stiffness and further the natural frequencies of a cylindrical helical spring under fixed-fixed boundary condition are carried out. Comparison of the present results with the FEM results using body elements in I-DEAS shows good accuracy in computation and validity of the model. Further, the present model is used for reciprocal spiral rods with different boundary conditions, and the comparison with FEM results shows that only a limited number of terms in the resultant provide a relatively accurate solution.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.180-187
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• 1997

A formula for estimating the elastic stiffness of TW-HDS with a uniformly tapered width from w$_{0}$ to w$_{1}$ over the length, has been analytically derived based on Euler beam theory and Castigliano's theorem. Elastic stiffnesses of the TW-HDSs designed in the same dimensional design spaces as the KOFA HDSs have been estimated from the derived formula, in addition, a sensitivity study on the elastic stiffness of the TW-HDSs has been carried out. Analysis results show that elastic stiffnesses of the TW-HDSs have been by far higher than those of the KOFA HDSs, and that, as the effects of axial and shear force on the elastic stiffness have been 0.15-0.21%, most of the elastic stiffness is attributed to the bending moment. As a result of sensitivity analysis, the elastic stiffness sensitivity at each design variable is quantified and design variables having remarkable sensitivity are identified. Among the design variables, leaf thickness is identified as that of having the most remarkable sensitivity of the elastic stiffness.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
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• 2010.11a
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• pp.651-652
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• 2010

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.543-557
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• 2020

This paper presents a series of experimental and numerical investigations on a vertical isolation system with quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) property. The isolation system comprises a linear helical spring and disk spring. The disk spring is designed to provide variable stiffness to the system. Orthogonal static tests with different design parameters are conducted to verify the mathematical and mechanical models of the isolation system. The deviations between theoretical and test results influenced by the design parameters are summarized. Then, the dynamic tests for the systems with different under-load degrees are performed, including the fast sweeping tests, harmonic excitation tests, and half-sine impact tests. The displacement transmissibility, vibration reduction rate, and free vibration response are calculated. Based on the test results, the variation of the transmission rule is evaluated and the damping magnitudes and types are identified. In addition, the relevant numerical time history responses are calculated considering the nonlinear behavior of the system. The results indicate that the QZS isolation system has a satisfactory isolation effect, while a higher damping level can potentially promote the isolation performance in the low-frequency range. It is also proved that the numerical calculation method accurately predicts the transmission character of the isolation system.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2003.04a
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• pp.868-873
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• 2003

This paper deals with the linear dynamic response of an elastically restrained beam under a moving mass, where the elastic support was modelled by translational springs of variable stiffness. Governing equations of motion taking into account of all inertia effects of the moving mass were derived by Galerkin's mode summation method, and Runge-Kutta integration method was applied to solve the differential equations. The effects of the speed, the magnitude of the moving mass, stiffness and the position of the support springs on the response of the beam have been studied. A variety of numerical results allows us to draw important conclusions for structural design purposes.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.303-317
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• 2019

Magneto-rheological fluid (MRF) rotatory dampers are normally used for controlling the constant rotation of machines and engines. In this research, such a device is proposed to act as variable stiffness device to alleviate the rotational oscillation existing in the many engineering applications, such as motor. Under such thought, the main purpose of this work is to characterize the nonlinear torque-angular displacement/angular velocity responses of an MRF based variable stiffness device in oscillatory motion. A rotational hysteresis model, consisting of a rotatory spring, a rotatory viscous damping element and an error function-based hysteresis element, is proposed, which is capable of describing the unique dynamical characteristics of this smart device. To estimate the optimal model parameters, a modified whale optimization algorithm (MWOA) is employed on the captured experimental data of torque, angular displacement and angular velocity under various excitation conditions. In MWOA, a nonlinear algorithm parameter updating mechanism is adopted to replace the traditional linear one, enhancing the global search ability initially and the local search ability at the later stage of the algorithm evolution. Additionally, the immune operation is introduced in the whale individual selection, improving the identification accuracy of solution. Finally, the dynamic testing results are used to validate the performance of the proposed model and the effectiveness of the proposed optimization algorithm.